Now the onus is on the St. Louis Blues to find a way to limit those two standouts in the hopes of stopping the defending champs.

“We’ve got to be a little bit harder on Kane,” said Blues defenceman Alex Pietrangelo on Thursday. “Obviously, he’s a dynamic player. He’s able to create things offensively. You saw by the overtime goal. If we can take away their time and space and play them harder and make it more difficult for them, I think that would be a little bit more success for us.”

The Blues are in a unique position with their best-of-seven opening-round Stanley Cup playoffs series tied 2-2. They can be perceived as underdogs as they prepare to play host to the Blackhawks for Friday’s crucial Game 5.

That’s despite having home-ice advantage in what’s become a best-of-three series in which the home squad has won all four tilts to this point.

Kane and Toews are the biggest reason for that view. Not only are they proving to be difference- makers — having scored the game-winning goals in the past two clashes — they are shifting their game into higher gears as their thrilling series moves along.

Toews can certainly see his buddy’s play elevating.

“When he got on the board early in the second (period on Wednesday), he wasn’t thinking anymore. He just went out and played,” Toews explained. “He was making things happen every time he got the puck. It was nice to see him play with that confidence.

“For him, the first couple games (of the series) maybe was an adjustment missing the amount of time that he did, especially with the (knee) injury that he had. I think he’s feeling pretty comfortable right now.

“That’s huge for us,” continued Toews, who on Thursday was named a finalist for the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward. “He’s a big part of our team offensively and a big part of our team on the power play. For the two of us playing together, I think I’m just trying to get him the puck and get him the puck with time and space so he can make plays and maybe I can help him out here and there.

“I think that’s one of the reasons we complement each other really well.”

What’s scary for the Blues is that Kane was shifted to a different line early in the third period of Wednesday’s game. Marian Hossa moved alongside Toews and Bryan Bickell, while Kane formed a trio with Ben Smith and Patrick Sharp.

The end result was Kane’s overtime goal that evened the series.

The ability to put Kane and Toews together to spark something and then split them apart to spread the wealth, so often to positive results, is one heck of a weapon for head coach Joel Quenneville to load.

“I think it’s a feel thing,” Quenneville said of how he mixes his lines. “You go into the game and you have a couple of ideas if you don’t like the way it looks. Sometimes, certain guys are going better than other guys and maybe you give the certain guy a little bit more quality, maybe you take away a little here and there … you see how it works.

“Sometimes in a course of a game, it can work, but I think when you don’t like the way things are going, you don’t mind mixing it up a little bit.”

THIS SERIES REALLY HAS HAD EVERYTHING

A huge belief heading into the playoffs was the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues were destined for a long series.

Most pundits predicted six games was the minimum. Seven games was a good bet.

Is anybody shocked they’re tied 2-2 heading into Friday’s Game 5 in St. Louis?

“We figured it would be 4-0 for us,” Blues blueliner Alex Pietrangelo (pictured) said with a sly grin. “I’m sure they were thinking the same thing. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy series.”

Nothing has lacked in the first four games between the Central Division rivals. Three games have gone into overtime. There have been great goals, big hits, some nastiness that went over the line, a war of words and huge momentum swings, with the Blues taking the first two games and the Blackhawks evening up things with the past two in Chicago.

“I think the odds are in our favor right now,” Blackhawks centre Andrew Shaw said. “The last two games have been huge for us. We had a good push, the push we needed and I think the guys are excited to get the next one started.”

The Blues don’t figure they are facing any longer odds than the Hawks.

“Nobody’s panicking. We’re not in a bad spot,” said defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. “It’s tied and we still have home ice. We have a good opportunity here. I don’t think anyone is worried where we’re at or anything like that. We’re not.”

Maybe the best way is to just embrace what this series has already achieved and what it appears destined to become. Looking at it any other way may be hard on the ticker.

“When you’re exhausting as much as both teams are into this series, and playing the way they are, it’s fun to be a part of,” said Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock. “And it’s fun to be coaching in because every shift matters and every line change matters, every little detail matters.

“It’s fun, I’m sure, for the players to play in. Sure, it’s stressful and there’s a lot of pressure on both teams, but that’s the fun part of this season. But this is a series that’s a lot of fun to coach in and a lot of fun to be a part of.”